Amateur hobby blog, about HeroClix and other topics of interest. I am NOT a journalist or professional writer. NOT an artist. Blue collar shlub with opinions.

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Back on Father’s Day, my own Dad (and my Mom) encouraged me to get out of my ‘comfort zone’ and head down from Elyria to Columbus, visit ORIGINS’ last day at the convention center. I did so. (Thanks, Mom & Dad.) [Sidebar: Something happened to my smartphone that day, the mini-USB port managed to fry itself, and I’d rapidly depleted my battery before I’d realized what was wrong. Aspect of modern living, I suppose, but I found my self being really, really anxious not having a smartphone — and access to *everything* — for few days. That smartphone is still unrepaired, as I try to find parts for a decent price. Broke down and simply bought a new phone, intending to turn my old phone into a back-up phone and a portable data storage instead.]

So, great breakfast with my Dad and my brother that morning, then a couple hours milling around ORIGINS, a great mildly-scenic drive both ways, and in the evening the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA finals. Good day, good day. (Considering the state of the world as a whole, full of death and pain, misery and destruction.)

Anyway, at ORIGINS, had stopped by the WizKids’ booth, scooped-up the Convention Exclusive HeroClix that were on sale. Cools.

*AND*, bought a couple games! New to me, but they’ve all been out for awhile.

Stumbled across someone demonstrating Onitama, was floored by its elegance and simplicity (chess-like, but with cards simulating fantasy martial arts moves, with which any piece can be moved), and scooped it up.

Along the same lines, stumbled across and bought QIN, another Asian-inspired and themed game, a map-tile-building kind of abstracted strategic game. They also had a separately-sold double-sided ‘advanced’ game board — Qin: “Toad” and “Dragon Turtle” Game Boards — which I then ‘had to have’.

I look forward to trying to teach my nephews both (hopefully my niece as well; she’s at That Age ™ [teenager]).

Haven’t seen anything like what was done with Tsuro being done with another older WizKids’ board game called Oshi. WizKids had to sell-off a lot of properties back when parent company TOPPS dumped them, and NECA bought-up WizKids. Oshi’s ‘pushing’ gameplay reminds me of a different, older game called Arimaa. Both are ‘stable staples’ of my collection, my ‘library’.